Fate's Decision
by Ikara-o-Kage
Summary: . . . I'll give you something snappy later . . . -- Replacement for 'Light Bringer' -- Pairing Undecided -- Rated 'T' and subject to change
1. Improvement

**Title** : _Fate's Decision  
_**Rating** : _T_  
**Type** : _Series_  
**Pairing** : _(undecided...)  
_**Category** : _Anime/Manga - Bleach - Fate's Decision  
_**Notes** : _Yes. I deleted 'Light Bringer'. I screwed it up, BIG TIME. So, I fix it. Erase and restart. Enjoy Chapter One of the new one. ^^ _

--  
**Begin** : _Fate's Decision  
--_

"_Bokusatsu_... _Toorima_."

The wakizashi sized blade shifted into a set of bone-colored gloves. They reached from mid-finger to the middle of the young woman's forearm. Similar coverings also formed on her feet, reaching from her toes to her mid-shin.

"Your orders, Komamura-taicho?"

"Patience. We will move when the time is right..."

The game the two played was a simple one. 'Hollow Tag' was it's given name, given by some of the younger members of the Gotei 13, 'fun' being the name it was referred to as by one certain shinigami officer...

"Now, Tenma!"

A blur of black and white dashed from the bush she has rested in. Several Hollow falling to her fist and the force waves sent off by it. A second attack, a whirl-wind kick, taking out the rest of the small group of Hollow.

"Good work. Only two attacks to bring down the entire group. You're improving."

The sound of leaves rustling filled the silenced clearing, and the young woman standing at it's center relaxed visibly. She knew who was coming, and so she was calm.

"Thank you, Komamura-taicho."

A grin slid onto the wolfish face of her captain as he moved into the clearing to stand before his subordinate.

"Not at all, Tenma. I shall give praise when praise is due. Last time it took three attacks for you to clear a smaller group of Hollow. I do believe such is worth some amount of praise, yes?"

She re-sealed her zanpakuto and sheathed the thin blade. A light sigh slipped through her blackened lips as she placed her hands in the sleeves of her hakama.

"I suppose. It isn't much of an improvement but it is some I guess. Though, shouldn't we be heading back? The So-taicho is going to want a report on this most likely..."

Her eyes fluttered closed only for a moment, re-opening to reveal irises of a light lilac. Her lightly tanned skin in combination with the purple eye-shadow and black eye-liner seemed to make them stand out all the more.

"Quite right. I'll go ahead. I'd like you to stay and clear the surrounding area. If you find another Hollow, kill it. If you can't, call for me and I will come. Understood?"

"Understood, sir. Return to you once I am finished?"

"Correct. Best of Luck, Tenma!"

Her captain disappeared after the short exchange of words, leaving the young officer to fend for herself. She reached up and pulled the two senbon from her hair, causing it to fall from it's ribbon bindings. The ebony waves cascaded down her back until she pulled them back with just the ribbon, tucking the senbon into her sash and resting her hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto.

'_Shikon?_'

'_Yes, Toorima?_'

'_You seem displeased. I trust it is not with my performance?_'

A deep sigh slid from her lips as she took to the trees, running and jumping from branch to branch and between trees. She could scout an area twice the size of most normal shinigami's spiritual range. It was was her choice of trade, a tracker's, specialty. She was often questioned on why she was not part of the Stealth Force with her tracking skills in such acute perfection, yet she always ignored such questions.

'_No. Not with you. With my orders. I should be training, not tracking. Those skills are fine. My power and attack speed are what I need to work on..._'

'_Shikon, Shikon. My little fang, you need to be patient. That is what you need to work on._'

'_Toorima. Patience is a virtue. One I do not have. That comes with time, and is not something I can learn._'

She stopped abruptly in the trees, having sensed exactly what she was hunting. A Hollow.

'_A menos?_'

"Yes. A Menos Grande..."

A grin formed on the young girl's face. Her hands curled into fists and she released her zanpakuto with no spoken command.

'_Ready?_'

'_You sure you want to take this one on solo? You may end up having to call Komakura-taicho..._'

'_He said kill whatever I found. He didn't mention a class limit. This one is mine. A test for the two of us..._'

'_Very well. Half for now, full later?_'

'_Yep._'

Shikon Tenma. Squad 7 of the Gotei 13. 16th seat. Her opponent, a Menos Grande. The outcome? That is up to _**Fate's Decision**_.


	2. Severed Fangs

**Title** : _Fate's Decision  
_**Rating** : _T_  
**Type** : _Series_  
**Pairing** : _(undecided...)  
_**Category** : _Anime/Manga - Bleach - Fate's Decision  
_**Notes** : _Chapter 2. ^^ Sorry it is a bit late. x$ Ideas left meh! Then life decided to rear her ugly head... But yeah! Enjoy!_

--  
**Begin** : _Severed Fangs__  
-- _

I walked slowly, keeping my reiatsu down, toward the massive spiritual pressure I felt from the Hollow.

'_Ready Toorima?_'

'_Born so..._'

I couldn't help the grin that slid across my face. Toorima was as eager as I was to fight this creature, despite her hesitance in the beginning.

'_Good._'

We continued until I saw the massive white mask that was the Hollow's face. The eerie grin that was plastered there was something I wasn't expecting... Nor was the sudden attack from behind in the form of it's tail.

I felt several ribs crack, and possibly a few broken clean from their place. I moved as quickly as I could to get out of it's path, before more damage could be done.

'_Damn. I wasn't expecting it to know I was coming. Surprise was my saving factor on this._'

'_Nothing we can do then. Call for back up? Or are you going to push your luck again?_'

I ignored my zanpakuto's comment and dove to the side, dodging his tail as it came around again, and I managed to get a good glimpse of the Hollow's full size...

**It was massive**...

I didn't expect a Menos Grande to be like this, and therefore I wasn't ready for it before hand. I started dodging faster as its attacks came quicker. Then it threw me for a loop...

"Is this the best a shinigami officer can do? I was expecting more from a captain..."

A what? Oh shit...

'_He has you confused with Komamura-taicho... That's not a good thing..._'

'_No. It's not..._'

I moved to the side again as his tail came flying at me. I needed to step up my game if he thought I was a captain. Ban-kai wasn't something most shinigami could do, not even all the lieutenants could do it, but I was lucky enough to be able to tap it. Mastering it was not in my current plans, as that would require finding an opponent strong enough to last against it that I trusted not to tell about it.

'_Toorima? Forget the game plan. Full on as of now._'

'_Very well..._'

Her voice faded off and I felt the skin on the underside of my wrist split. I was allowing Toorima's physical state to show though mine...

My voice gained a double tone effect...

"_Ban-kai...Gekitou Toorima!_"

My reiatsu spiked and the bone that seeped from under the skin of my wrists shifted and and wrapped around my hands and fingers to form clawed gauntlets and similarly around my feet to form matching greeves. A mask of sorts formed over the lower half of my face, covering everything below my eyes. It bore a resemblance to a lynx's face, the twin horn like ears that came from under my hair only reinforcing this image.

"_Let's go Toorima!_"

Our combined form was my ban-kai. My speed was increased and my attack power was almost tripled. Most things that I pit against weren't strong enough to warrant the release of my ban-kai, but if it was then it didn't last long. I had a feeling this would be different however...

I rushed toward the body of the Hollow, it's elongated form making that a large and easy to strike target. I managed a single gash in the rough area of it's ribs before I was swatted away by the massive tail that I was trying to get rid of. If I managed to stop it, I'd be able to kill it...

I knew one method that would work, something that Toorima had taught me to use to my advantage...

I waited until the tail came at me again, this time I grabbed it and dug my claws into it.

"What's this? The little kitten can bite? How cute..."

I felt myself fly as soon as those words left it's mouth. He just shot that plan to hell...

I stopped moving once I felt the mask crack as I was slammed against a wall...

A. How did I get into the city from in the middle of the woods? B. Since when can my mask be cracked?

Not good...

--

I knew leaving Tenma in the human world with such a high level Hollow was a bad idea, but my orders were given and I had to follow them...

Since Tousen, Gin, and Aizen had gone to Hueco Mundo, I found myself more often than not looking for something to do. I turned to training my division... or mainly, the ones I saw promise in. Shikon Temna was the one I saw such promise in. Once I found out about her ban-kai however... I knew she would need to be tested. One such manner of this, was to plan a meeting between a shinigami and a Hollow of a high level. If they could kill it, they passed. If not, they would die by the hands of their opponent. I just prayed the young girl would survive...

--

I stood and brushed a small trickle of blood from the side of my face. That collision had done more damage than I thought it had...

"Surprised kitten? You disappoint me..."

I looked ahead and saw the Hollow from before, still just as large, only in an upright stance... It reminded me of a large lizard... I grinned behind my mask.

"What are you grinning about..."

My grin widened and I clenched my fists, slipping into a braced stance. I knew I wasn't on the same level as this thing, so I would have to finish this quickly...

"_Not much. Just the thought of you lying dead at my feet and the well-earned praise I will receive when I get back to the Sereitei..._"

He obviously didn't like my attitude or something... I felt his reiatsu soar...

"You won't live to go back!"

He lunged at me and I dodged to the left. I reached out and tore into his side with the claws on the left gauntlet. The howl that resounded from his massive jaws was enough to stun me momentarily. That moment was all he needed. I was sent flying again, this time through a wall and into a storage building.

I felt my mask crack again, this time a portion of it fell off and into my hand...

"_How on earth..._"

I felt Toorima's form shift from mine for a moment before it fell back into alignment with me...

'_The form is slipping... So I do have a limit on my Ban-kai... Time. Lady Chrono is not my friend... I need to hurry..._'

"It seems the little kitty is loosing her fangs..."

The Hollow laughed at his own joke, while I merely stood and spat blood, one of the fangs on my mask had cut into my lip when it broke...

"I may be loosing my fangs... but my claws are still fully intact..."

I glared over the remnants of my mask at the reptilian creature before holding my hand out as if holding a sphere. My gauntlets shifted to form claws that moved with my fingers... They became boney gloves with deadly tips. The Hollow watched carefully as I did this, trying to figure out what I was about to do...

He didn't have time to.

I struck and his head fell from his shoulders.

"_...Tsume Kire...Talon Slice..._"

I too then fell, my mask shattering and taking with it my form. I felt Toorima's presence fade off... And with her, my recollection of the waking world...


	3. Shattered Blade

**Title** : _Fate's Decision  
_**Rating** : _T_  
**Type** : _Series_  
**Pairing** : _(undecided...)  
_**Category** : _Anime/Manga - Bleach - Fate's Decision  
_**Notes** : _Chapter 3. Hope you like it!_

--  
**Begin** : _Shattered Blade__  
-- _

I jumped as the phone in my pocket went off. It was a message from the Sereitei... I managed to slip it out and read the message without getting caught, and it's contents surprised me...

'_Hitsugaya-taichou. I need you to gather one of my shinigami, an officer. She has fallen from a fight but is still very-much alive. I will explain more later today. Meet me in the park at midnight for the full story._

_- Komamura-taichou, Squad 7_'

I managed to lie my way out of class, and Matsumoto managed to do the same. I won't ask her how as I fear I already know... She and I made our way to the other side of town, where the coordinates Komamura-taichou sent with the message said his fallen officer was. I was shocked to say the least...

The Hollow that now laid dead, although not disposed of properly, was nothing short of massive. Judging by it's form, it was a lesser Menos Grande, the still lingering reiatsu only reinforced that theory...

I gave Matsumoto the order to preform a soul burial on the fallen Hollow while I tracked down our fallen ally. When Matsumoto finished, I saw her lying face down on the other side of the Hollow. What I didn't expect to see was her zanpakuto in several pieces...

--

Pain... That was the first thing that registered... It wasn't physical though...

Something was missing...

'_Toorima?_'

Nothing but the silence of my own mind replied to me...

'_Toorima?_'

Silence.

'_Toorima!?! Answer me!_'

Now I knew what was missing...

-

_I felt the mask shatter, as it's remnants fell from my face and faded away. That had never happened before... I had never used my Ban-kai for such a length of time either... _

'_Toorima?_'

'_I'm sorry Shikon... I truly am... Something is holding you back. Find it. Until then, there is nothing I can do..._'

'_What do you mean Toorima?_'

'_I cannot stay Shikon. My contract for staying in this realm is strict. Until you can conquer our combined form for an indefinite time. I must leave. You will still have my claws and fangs, but I will not be here... I'm sorry..._'

-

Toorima was gone. Her soul wasn't with me anymore...

I reached out in search of the sealed form she took in this realm. I sliced my finger on something and instantly knew what it was.

I pushed myself up, surprising the gifted woman beside me. I also felt the presence of a captain. It was a cold one... Ice... Ice and snow... Captain... Hyourinmaru... Hitsugaya-taichou of the 10th division... It was Matsumoto-fukutaichou that I startled...

I didn't bother with looking to the side to see the two, instead my eyes fell on my blade... My shattered zanpakuto...

"Toorima..."

"You shouldn't be moving, Tenma-san. We don't need one of those broken ribs puncturing something..."

"I could care less Matsumoto-fukutaichou. My own injuries no longer concern me."

I looked through my fallen bangs at the aforementioned lieutenant. She was wearing the traditional shinigami attire, Hitsugaya-taichou was in the local school uniform... I'll find out the details later...

My eyes once again fell to my fallen sword. I reached out and ran my fingers across the pieces of my zanpakuto, slicing them open numerous times on the lethal edge. I kept my sword sharpen to a fine edge, so even in it's current state it was a formidable blade... I moved so I was sitting in front of the the blade, and I grasped the hilt in my hand. The familiar purr that sounded from Toorima was no longer present, and it drove the fact home...

**Toorima was gone**.

I saw a small spot of the hilt darken for a moment before fading. I wasn't crying... A phantom tear...

The only tears the shimmering black lynx known as Toorima shed before her fall at hands of man so many millennium before...

The forgotten legend of the lost clan from the Arctic... Toorima wasn't an ice breed though. She was a trained hunter. The shadows of the midnight painted village were her domain. Her glistening fur enough to shed the snow with the lightest of shakes. Her eyes the color of bone...

She was a lost legend in her own right. Stories told around the fires of a black cat that would steal fresh meat from the camp, even with the most watchful of guards keeping look out. Often times, they would tell the story then turn to see a large piece of meat missing from their racks...

She never killed a mortal. Only taking life when she had no choice...

When man decided he was above the bestial legends that roamed the lands, she had no choice but to fight.

A sword was her end, quick and swift. A piercing blow right to the heart...

Ironic that her spirit would be reborn as a blade that so resembled the one that took her life.

Her pact... The one she made with the man that killed her...

_Let me walk among man as a spirit and see what becomes of the race that was my end. Permit me this and I will forgive your crime of taking my life. Let me be reborn and only then will I take on your sin..._

Her wish was granted.

She used to tell me stories of the things she saw. The kingdoms that rose and fell in her lifetime as a wandering spirit. The rulers, the wars, the times of peace and prosperity. All of which were brought to an end by human hands...

She was reborn when I was became a shinigami. She became my zanpakuto, the sword that now lay broken at my feet...

What did I do wrong to loose her?

_**Something is holding you back.**_

What is holding me back...?

Where is the wisdom won by age when you need it...

"Tenma?"

My world of memories shattered.

"S-sorry. Yes?"

"Come on. Komamura-taichou sent us after you. He will probably want to speak with you. Let's get back to where the taichou and I are staying ok? Orihime can heal you and then we can get you in contact with the Sereitei so you can give a report. Sound like a plan?"

I nodded at the lieutenant beside me. My eyes fell once again to the blade before me...

I would not leave Toorima here... Even though Toorima no longer inhabited the blade...

Wait...

She wasn't here. She had yet to take on his sin of killing another mortal...

A grin tore its way onto my face.

"Bokusatsu! Toorima!"

I felt the gauntlets form, good as new only without their normal luster, and their matching greeves as well.

She wasn't going to serve a weak master. She could only serve one capable of taking another's life...

I was holding myself back...

I resealed the now soulless blade and sheathed it.

Now the hard part... How was I holding myself back?


End file.
